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The prime intention of super-resolution (SR) technique is to restore the high-resolution images from one or more low-resolution (LR) images. These images are captured from the same scene with different acquisition systems with different resolution. Because these acquisition systems, images are suffered for an ill-posed problem with low visualization and picture information. Therefore, in this paper, the zoom-based super-resolution approach is proposed for super-resolution of low resolute images which are acquired from different camera zoom-lens. In this approach, three LR images of the same static scene which are acquired using three distinct zoom factors are used. Learning-based SR technique is used to enhance the spatial resolution of these LR images. The training dataset comprises three sets of captured images which are LR images, an enhanced version of LR images-HR1 and enhanced version of HR1 images-HR2. High-frequency details of the super-resolute image are learned in form of the discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients of HR training images. Finally, the super-resolved versions of LR observations, captured at different zoom-factors, are combined. The experimental results show that this proposed approach can be applied to various types of natural images in grayscale as well as color. The experimental results also show that this proposed approach performs better than existing approaches.

Ferritin is a known inflammatory biomarker in COVID-19. However, many factors and co-morbidities can confound the level of serum ferritin. This current metaanalysis evaluates serum ferritin level in different severity levels in COVID-19. Studies evaluating serum ferritin level in different clinical contexts (COVID-19 vs. control, mild to moderate vs. severe to critical, non-survivor vs. survivor, organ involvement, ICU and mechanical ventilation requirement) were included (total 9 literature databases searched). Metaanalysis and metaregression was carried out using metaphor “R” package. Compared to control (COVID-19 negative), higher ferritin levels were found among the COVID-19 patients [SMD −0.889 (95% C.I. −1.201, −0.577), I2 = 85%]. Severe to critical COVID-19 patients showed higher ferritin levels compared to mild to moderate COVID-19 patients [SMD 0.882 (0.738, 1.026), I2 = 85%]. In meta-regression, high heterogeneity was observed could be attributed to difference in “mean age”, and “percentage of population with concomitant co-morbidities”. Non-survivors had higher serum ferritin level compared to survivors [SMD 0.992 (0.672, 1.172), I2 = 92.33%]. In meta-regression, high heterogeneity observed could be attributed to difference in “mean age” and “percentage of male sex”. Patients requiring ICU [SMD 0.674 (0.515 to 0.833), I2 = 80%] and mechanical ventilation [SMD 0.430 (0.258, 0.602), I2 = 32%] had higher serum ferritin levels compared to those who didn't. To conclude, serum ferritin level may serve as an important biomarker which can aid in COVID-19 management. However, presence of other co-morbid conditions/confounders warrants cautious interpretation.

Background Vitamin B12 is an essential coenzyme for homocysteine remethylation. So, its deficiency could lead to homocysteine accumulation, a modifiable risk factor for coronary artery disease, deep vein thrombosis and stroke. Transcobalamin II (TCN2) protein responsible for intracellular delivery of vitamin B12 levels, might have change in structure due to genetic variation leading to the altered delivery of vitamin B12. TCN2 gene polymorphism has been associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease, however to the best of our knowledge, no previous study has documented its effect in stroke in India. Aim To explore TCN2 gene polymorphisms status and its association with risk of stroke in North Indian population. Methods An observational study including 154 subjects (84 stroke cases and 70 healthy) was conducted. Genotyping of TCN2 gene SNP 776C > G was done by PCR-RFLP and that of 1196G > A and 1043C > T by allele-specific PCR. Serum level of vitamin B12, and homocysteine were measured by ELISA, and Enzymatic Cycling method respectively. Results Subjects with 776GG genotype had 2.5 times higher risk of developing stroke as compared to 776CC genotype (OR = 2.5, 95%CI = 1.06–5.88; P = .04). Moreover, 776GG had a significantly lower vitamin B12 (P = .04) and a significantly higher homocysteine (P = .004) as compared to 776CC. SNP 1196G > A did not show a significant association with risk of stroke, vitamin B12 and homocysteine levels. 1043CT genotype showed significantly lower risk of stroke (OR = 0.34, 95%CI = 0.13–0.90; P = .03), though had no significant association with vitamin B12 and homocysteine levels. Conclusion SNP 776C > G may be used as a genetic marker for predicting increased risk of stroke. Whereas, 1043CT genotype may have a protective association against the risk of stroke.

The increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa has created an urgent need for suitable therapy. This study explored the pairing of doxycycline with other antipseudomonal antibiotics, and found that polymyxin B in combination with doxycycline had a synergistic effect against clinical strains of P. aeruginosa. This synergistic combination was studied by checkerboard assays and time-kill curve analysis. Further, in-vitro biofilm disruption, pyoverdine inhibition assays were performed. The efficacy of polymyxin B-doxycycline in combination, administered by inhalation, was evaluated using a mouse model of acute pneumonia. The combination was found to have a synergistic effect in both in-vitro and in-vivo studies. The combination decreased biofilms of P. aeruginosa and reduced the level of pyoverdine, an important siderophore of P. aeruginosa. In addition, the combination decreased the P. aeruginosa population by 3 log10 (P

India is floundering in its quest to meet basic social objectives of eradicating poverty, hunger, malnutrition, unemployment, inequality and other socio-economic deprivations. It is also on a steep path of ecological unsustainability. These issues can at least partly be attributed to a fundamentally flawed model of development, its flaws having been accentuated in the last two decades of economic globalisation. At the same time, however, peoples’ initiatives at sustainable and equitable well-being in various sectors are growing, and some policy shifts have also taken place in this direction. Building on this, an alternative framework of well-being, here called Radical Ecological Democracy, can be envisaged. This involves a new political governance with decentralised decision-making embedded within larger, ecologically and culturally defined landscapes, a new economics that respects ecological limits and democratises both production and consumption, and a new cultural and knowledge-based society that values diversity, collective synergism, and public innovation. The combination of peoples’ resistance to destructive development and alternative, solution-based initiatives, with support from other sections of society, can lead India to be firmly on the path of such a framework by 2100.

The present article is a critique on the judgment of the Indian Supreme Court in the case of Haryana Unrecognized School Association v. State of Haryana, where the Supreme Court has held that teachers of primary schools are not eligible to receive minimum wages as provided under the Minimum wages Act as they cannot be considered as employee as defined by the Minimum Wages Act under section 2(i). The author believes that such a judgment would cause grave injustice to the teachers and is of the opinion that a liberal interpretation has to be given to the definition of employee under the Act in order to bring in teachers also under the scope of the Act.